Returning to the Charles

Many of my classmates have written about the field trip that we took last week, and I agree that it was interesting and gratifying to see many of the sites along the Hudson that we have learned about and discussed during this semester. I now more fully understand why the Hudson means so much to so many people (and why we took this class, “The Once and Future Hudson”). We have learned about the history, the culture, the geography, the environmental problems, and the development of the Hudson River Valley through books, documentaries, novels, presentations, trips, and meetings. We watched Peter Hutton’s Hudson River films, visited the Munson William Proctor Institute, and traveled to Kaaterskill Falls (which was, thankfully, less foreboding than Thomas Cole’s painting), Newburgh, World’s End, and Hudson.

At the beginning of the semester, we discussed the importance of sense of place. Both then and now I think that each place, with its specific historical, environmental, human, and economic resources, is important. Places such as Storm King Mountain, Greig Farm, Crissy Field, Nissequoge River, and Kaaterskill Falls cannot be replaced or duplicated. They hold unique meanings for individuals and need to be maintained. The environmental movements and battles along the Hudson show people’s commitment to areas to which they have that special sense of place.

Later this week, I will return to my home in Massachusetts for the summer. I do not know when I will again return to the place or the topic of the Hudson River. I will, however, see the Charles River almost daily. The Charles, a recreational river, begins in Hopkinton and runs for about 80 miles long before emptying into Boston Harbor. The river has its own pollution problems, complete with pollution theme song – “Dirty Water” by The Standells (not Pete Seeger), written in the 1960’s. In 1996, the EPA gave the Charles a water quality grade of D (meet boating standards some of the time; almost never meet swimming standards). Since then, the EPA has been working with organizations to reduce pollution sources through enforcement and remediation. In the past two years, the Charles has received a grade of B+ (B -- always meet boating standards; meet swimming standards most of the time), showing the great improvement in river quality.

We have, in many ways, negatively impacted areas such as the Hudson and the Charles, but we certainly have the ability to renew these important places and have come a long way in doing so.